Hang the DJ: Roane Namuh

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A Rose City resident since the age of seven, Zack Taylor aka DJ Roane Namuh found a home behind the decks on the cusp of his teenage years and has continued to build his DJ game ever since, though especially in the past three years. Having recently celebrated his 21st birthday, maybe more of those decks will even be in bars. He's already got a plethora of house parties under his belt and presently can be found amongst 360 Vinyl's expansive underground offerings working alongside DJ Kez by day.

How did you decide on your DJ name? What's your real name?
Zack “Roane” Taylor. Roane is just my middle name actually.

As the Rapture say, "People don't dance no more, they just stand there like this." How often do you encounter this?
Nah, I don't know about that. I see people dancing all the time: at house parties, larger type venues, little lounge bars, art galleries [and] dive bars. As long as there's good music (and alcohol), people get down.

Ideal crowd?
Open honest humans trying to get up to get down and get down to get up.

How do you feel about requests?
Nothing wrong with that, if I have it with me [then] I'll play it.

Do you have a story about a particular request or requester?
Not really, other than the drunk girl/dudebro knocking the needle off or reaching over the table and scratching the record. One time this girl asked me if I could stop playing sexy music and play some booty shaking music. That was funny, and confusing.

Do you DJ full time? What do you do outside of DJing?
No. I work at 360 Vinyl. We're a record store downtown that specializes in hip-hop, soul, jazz, electronic and dance music.

Where can we find you venue wise? Do you have a current main gig?
No main gig. I've spun at the Aalto Lounge, Pi-Rem, Bye and Bye, the Know, Backspace, and on KBOO. I just turned 21 not too long ago so its mainly been house parties up until recently, so I'm always looking for spots to spin at.

How long have you been spinning?
I've had turntables and have been buying records since I was 12, but I've only really considered myself a “DJ” for about three years.

What drew you to DJing originally?
I've just always loved music. And hip-hop has been a huge influence in my life, so it just kinda worked out that way.

In what ways has hip-hop influenced your life? Does it reflect it?
For as long as I can remember I've been obsessed with music, in that sense hip-hop has expanded my knowledge and appreciation for all different types of music through hearing/learning about different records DJs and producers have used and sampled from, thus extending into my love/addiction for records and wanting to be a DJ. As far as my life reflecting it, hip-hop has helped shape my views on social and economic issues, religion, politics, drugs, food, etc. which are things I think you draw from in the way you conduct yourself everyday and decisions you make.

What are your thoughts on vinyl versus CDs versus laptops?
I love vinyl. I spin vinyl. That's what I know DJing to be: having knowledge of music, digging for the records, and having skills to piece it together for people. But technology now pretty much allows anybody to be a DJ, which is cool, I just hope the art of it won't get lost. I just do what I do and people seem to appreciate it.